The "No B.S." Horror List...100% Terror!
by richardjohnmacready | created - 08 Aug 2011 | updated - 08 Aug 2011 | PublicThese are just some of the movies that I know are good and in someway will leave an impact on you long after you watch them. Please keep in mind that this list is in no particular order...they are all fantastic. And before you post your comments about all the movies I should have added...I know...this is just a very small list of films that I love.
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1. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 454,791 | Gross: $232.91M
This film is almost 40 years old but don't let that SCARE you...it is still one of the scariest movies ever made. No one has caught up to this film yet.
2. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,429 | Gross: $13.78M
This film was not well received in 1982 but now has a HUGE cult following. Kurt Russel was made for this film and the effects are amazing for pre-CGI.
3. Martyrs (2008)
R | 99 min | Horror
A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.
Director: Pascal Laugier | Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin, Robert Toupin
Votes: 106,366
This one was so intense...I almost could not finish it. Very brutal and realistic. It will leave an impression on you long after you have watched it. The ending is killer...no pun intended.
4. High Tension (2003)
R | 91 min | Horror
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun
Votes: 77,829 | Gross: $3.68M
This is a French film and you have to see it in the original language with English subtitles. The French are great in the horror field and you won't see the ending coming either. Wow.
5. 7 Days (2010)
Not Rated | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A doctor seeks revenge by kidnapping, torturing and killing the man who raped and murdered his young daughter.
Director: Daniel Grou | Stars: Claude Legault, Rémy Girard, Martin Dubreuil, Fanny Mallette
Votes: 8,638
This one had me squirming in my seat. Very realistic and unsettling. I started to feel for the guy getting tortured. The message at the end is also very emotional. You will never look at a sledgehammer the same again.
6. The Descent (2005)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Votes: 246,847 | Gross: $26.02M
What can I say, beautiful women, dark caves, lots of blood and blind monsters that hunt by sound. Need I say more. Top notch acting, directing and effects. Spelunking gone wrong.
7. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 762,766 | Gross: $85.16M
This movie is so good it's ridiculous. It's really rare to out-do an original classic but James Cameron did it. Hard to believe this film is 25 years old and is still to this day...the finest sci-fi / horror movie ever made.
8. Splinter (I) (2008)
R | 82 min | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi
Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still-living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an escaped convict must find a way to work together to survive this primal terror.
Director: Toby Wilkins | Stars: Shea Whigham, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Charles Baker
Votes: 40,895
The reason I liked this one so much was how the director uses sound. The sounds you hear in the movie are ofter scarier than the creatures themselves. The acting is great and I had never seen a movie like this before.
9. The Crazies (2010)
R | 101 min | Horror
After a strange and insecure plane crash, an unusual toxic virus enters a quaint farming town. A young couple are quarantined, but they fight for survival along with help from a couple of people.
Director: Breck Eisner | Stars: Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphant, Danielle Panabaker, Joe Anderson
Votes: 128,887 | Gross: $39.12M
This film is a remake of 1973 classic. This film brings a certain realism to the whole "zombie" genre. Stars Timothy Olyphant from "Justified" and Radha Mitchell from "Pitch Black." This movie will remind you to drink bottled water.
10. 28 Days Later (2002)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer
Votes: 445,470 | Gross: $45.06M
This is said to be one of the best "zombie-like" movies ever made. The soundtrack to this film is simply amazing and shows you just how good a director Danny Boyle is.
11. The Ring (2002)
PG-13 | 115 min | Horror, Mystery
A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman
Votes: 374,907 | Gross: $129.13M
After watching this film you have to ask yourself...what would you do if you only had 7 days to live. I just hope I never see water come out of my TV set.
12. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,798,306 | Gross: $100.13M
Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow star in this masterpiece of horror and suspense. The director, David Fincher, captures a mood of despair and horror so well you really feel like you are a part of the film.
13. Them (2006)
R | 77 min | Horror, Thriller
Lucas and Clementine live peacefully in their isolated country house, but one night they wake up to strange noise... they're not alone... and a group of hooded assailants begin to terrorize them throughout the night.
Directors: David Moreau, Xavier Palud | Stars: Olivia Bonamy, Michaël Cohen, Adriana Mocca, Maria Roman
Votes: 32,069
Now this one was based on a true story which made me like it even more. The message in this film...never open the door unless you know who it is outside.
14. The Strangers (2008)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.
Director: Bryan Bertino | Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Alex Fisher
Votes: 143,531 | Gross: $52.60M
This horror movie has an old-school feel to it and what I really like about it is that it's believable. Three strangers mess around with a couple just for the hell of it. There is one line in this movie that I will NEVER forget...you will have to watch to find out what it is.
15. Wolf Creek (2005)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.
Director: Greg McLean | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt
Votes: 78,334 | Gross: $16.19M
This one was also based on a true story in Australia. The killer is genuinely creepy and will make you think twice before accepting help from strangers.
16. Inside (2007)
R | 82 min | Horror
Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.
Directors: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | Stars: Alysson Paradis, Jean-Baptiste Tabourin, Claude Lulé, Dominique Frot
Votes: 44,682
This film pushed the envelope of horror as well. I never thought scissors could be so scary.
17. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
PG-13 | 99 min | Horror
A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier, Lorna Raver
Votes: 217,436 | Gross: $42.10M
Scary with some humor mixed in. Sam Raimi was back in rare form with this one and the ending was great. The moral of the story....never piss-off of a gypsy.
18. [Rec]² (2009)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
In order to ascertain the current situation inside, a supposed medical officer and a GEO team step into the quarantined and ill-fated apartment building.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Jonathan D. Mellor, Manuela Velasco, Óscar Zafra, Ariel Casas
Votes: 78,503 | Gross: $0.03M
[Rec] (2007) and [Rec]2 (2009) were both great and were produced in Spain. You will enjoy both of these films. There is a lot of hand-held camera shots to give you that "this is really happening feel" to the story. Plus, the reporter girl is really cute.
19. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
The uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Votes: 593,775 | Gross: $13.54M
This one is not so much scary as it is so well done as a horror/comedy. This one is truly a classic. Everyone will still be watching this 30 years from now.
20. Braindead (1992)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Votes: 103,263 | Gross: $0.24M
This one was done by The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. This one is a cult favorite and has to be one of the goriest movies I have ever scene.
21. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,335 | Gross: $2.40M
This film gave Bruce Campbell his start as the horror-king dude of the world. I just love watching him in movies and The Evil Dead is a lot of fun to watch.
22. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 181,870 | Gross: $5.92M
This is part two of the 1981 classic and is just a good if not better than the first. Better effects and more fun.
23. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Horror
Affable hillbillies Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students.
Director: Eli Craig | Stars: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss
Votes: 193,472 | Gross: $0.22M
This one was very funny but over-the-top gory at the same time. So many great lines in this movie and you will want to watch it again and again.
24. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,725 | Gross: $2.12M
Now this is a great vampire movie. The States made a remake but stick with the original.
25. Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven
Votes: 117,841 | Gross: $26.12M
Disturbing images and a great performance by Tim Robbins.
26. The Loved Ones (2009)
R | 84 min | Crime, Horror
When Brent turns down his classmate Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.
Director: Sean Byrne | Stars: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, John Brumpton, Richard Wilson
Votes: 44,044
This movies reminds me of why I'm glad I'm not in high school anymore.
27. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 201,826 | Gross: $40.46M
Great story and great effects way before CGI. This has to be one of the most horrible ways to die.
28. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 702,823 | Gross: $37.63M
This one is sort of a slow-burn type of movie but well done in every way.
29. Identity (2003)
R | 90 min | Mystery, Thriller
Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes
Votes: 267,103 | Gross: $52.16M
This movie has a great cast, great story and a great ending...must see.
30. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
R | 108 min | Horror, Thriller
A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Director: Steven R. Monroe | Stars: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese
Votes: 93,117 | Gross: $0.09M
This one will sure to please all you horror buffs out there. Some over-the-top killings and some very disturbing images. This is an intense revenge film.
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